The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1887-06-04
Abbcrille Mendiana(.
H.D:,Il Farm.

=
'Lenor read the following address:
What shall be done to save the
sugar industry Of Louisiana from the
inevitable. destruction which nov
threathens it, by the cheap prodnc-
ton Of sugar from the European
beet" is n question which now pre-
sents itself wiih an alarming empha-
sis TO all engaged IL interested in
its culture.
There is no planer trHism then
that the actual experience ct the
past furnishes the most reliable
lessons for our future guidance" and
from a careful review Of the sitHa-
ton no other reasonable conclusion
can be reached than that the very
existence Of the sugar industry in
onr State depend on the erection OF
central s~ugarhouses fer tie purchase
of cane.
The present system OF gang labor
has been effectuaIly tried and found
sadly wanting in all of the essentials
Of agricultural, financial and social
prosperity. Under its baneful agen-
CIV hundreds of families who were in
afluence have been reduced to
ahject poverty, lands as fertile as
the PLAINS Of Andelusia or the
famed valley Of the Nile, have no
valuation, and society almost in g
chaotic state.
Must such things continue until
this fair Eden is engulfed in utter
ruin, or shall we as intelligent, re,
sponsible men, taking heed frem the
fearful lessons Of the past, determine
to rescue onr homes from the disas.
trous fate that is impending
over us.
The antagonistic feelings Of labor
towards capital that is rapidly
pcrvading our land car easily be
controlled by a III .jority Of voters
becoming property owners, in that
lies not only the success Of sugar
industry Of Louisiana, but the stabil-
ity of republican government. Let
lis then profit by the lesson we have
learned and apply the remedy SO
readily within our grasp.
The land owners must determine
to sell fheir lands In small tracts to
reliable class Of agricultural pco
pie, who can readily be induced to
come here by an assurance that the
cane raised could he disposed OF at
fair prices. Some plantations in our
parishes are each capable of main
tanning one hundred families. the
owner would thus be relieved Of the
burthen Of a vast estate, worked by
the present uncertain, unsatisfactory
and often profitable labor regime,
and instead he would fine himself
surrounded by a community Of thir-
ty people whose Interests wcnld be
in common with his own, and who
would have an ambition fer the
comfort and well.being Of their
families and the Improvement Of
society.
Uuder such a system capital could
be readily obtained for the erection
of all the necessary machinery for
,he manufacture of sugar OF the
most economical basis. and thus by
the division Of the producing and
manufacturing industries sugar
would be as cheapIy made here as
in any part of the globe, and the
tiller of the soil would receive more
for the cane alone than is now
realized by a large portion of plan
tiers for the manufactured product,
besides leaving the manufacturer
af,ir margin Of profit
| feel assured that by the proper
system Of hnsbandry and the estab-
lishment of central factories, cur
lands now unstable. will command
prices equal to any section of
the country, and this lovely
valley Of the Teche be made to yield
a sacolarine harvest surprising the
most prosperous days Of ante-bellun
record"
Another curious case of ap
parent sensation in a member of the